Tweak

InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I have two feet and one nose."

in_the_grass (in_the_grass) wrote in wished,
@ 2010-10-31 19:53:00

Entry tags:

!2003: 10, !incomplete, !open, essery oakby, fleur delacour, severus snape

Who: OPEN to anyone at Hogwarts during or after the Halloween Feast.
What: The Halloween Feast!
Where: Hogwarts, the Great Hall; possibly other places.
When: Tonight
Warnings: TBA / Up to you.
Status: Open - I've put up some subthreads, just to keep things organized for anyone who wants to hop in. If anyone wants to divide them further, do so to your heart's content!

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in_the_grass
2010-11-03 01:03 am UTC (link)

"I think I can probably wait until next year, thank you." He cut himself a piece of whatever was left that wasn't pie, and rested his chin in his hand, surveying the Hall. "Better not to subject them to the rest of the revelry. Did anyone else end up coming in ... costume?" he asked, generally indicating her outfit. He didn't see anyone else, but she did rather stand out. It was possible he was just distracted, again. "The nose is impressive," he deadpanned. He would know, after all.

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oakbye
2010-11-03 01:08 am UTC (link)

"No, not that I saw.." She shrugged, it had been for her own fun. She couldn't care much that others had spent some time staring at the only professor in the spirit.

"Muggle costumes do something things right," She said, turning her head enough that he could see the black elastic that kept the nose in place, then she looked back at him again, looking him over. "I doubt anyone would have thought you'd come as a muggle..."

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in_the_grass
2010-11-03 01:32 am UTC (link)

"They do. Very practical. And memorable, too - you'll have an act to follow next year." He found he wasn't as hungry as he thought he would be. He wondered why she had come to sit with him, but stopped himself when he realized that it didn't surprise him at all. He had almost come to expect it, and even when he hadn't been thinking to hope for it, he was glad for it.

He glanced down at his clothes, and snorted a little. "Yes, that might have drawn a few comments, had I come on time. I rather thought I could pass for either, actually. Traveling in mixed areas does present challenges."

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oakbye
2010-11-03 01:46 am UTC (link)

"Well, the basic black at least doesn't turn many heads." Essery grinned at him again, then picked up her water to sip it. When she sat it down again, she wasn't really sure what to say. Why had she interrupted him eating? Mostly, she'd thought he looked.. upset. Or moreso than normal. It wasn't the sort of thing you could just ask - particularly not when the last time you'd spoken to someone, you'd embarrassed yourself ridiculously.

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in_the_grass
2010-11-03 01:59 am UTC (link)

His smile had settled into as comfortable a place as it ever did, consistent even if it was faint. "And yet, you've managed - I suppose it's different when you have it in feathers." He was allowed to look a little more closely, he decided, since it was a costume, but kept it brief all the same. Was he being truly, incredibly stupid in letting himself entertain the thought that such a thing might even be possible? Less than an hour ago, he'd been berating himself for past cowardice, but it was always harder in the face of things, wasn't it.

"You should come by again, sometime," he said after a pause, trying to sound casual. Perhaps she would let him gloss over the fact that they'd parted ... oddly, the last time. "I'm getting out of practice."

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oakbye
2010-11-03 02:07 am UTC (link)

Essery hadn't wanted to admit to herself that she was waiting for an invitation, but when it came she seemed to relax even more, obviously pleased. Relieved.

"I've missed playing, actually." Which wasn't what she'd missed, but she hadn't missed acting like an idiot, and missing chess at least avoided that. "Whenever you have a night free, you'll have to school me again."

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in_the_grass
2010-11-03 02:24 am UTC (link)

"I'll be happy to try." Every time she dropped in, his mind seemed to draw further and further towards anything but the chess board. Maybe by tomorrow he'd have regained some of his senses, but tonight he was off-kilter enough that he was almost certain he'd have lost. Especially since it seemed so clear that she wanted to come. "I don't think you need lessons. Maybe a little more attention to the long view," he said with a bit of a smirk, to make it clear that he wasn't actually lecturing. "But one wonders if that can be taught."

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	oakbye 2010-11-08 12:54 am UTC (link)
	"It has always been my weakness," Essery admitted with a laugh that said she was thinking of something specific, then she turned to look out over the almost empty Great Hall. "You really did miss all the festivities, though. Not a fan of the holiday?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

in_the_grass
2010-11-08 01:42 am UTC (link)

Severus glanced over at her before taking in the rest of the hall and pouring himself something that smelled like rather tepid coffee. "It's not bad, as holidays go." He had liked it, when he was in school. Of course it played into his tastes. "But I could give or take the feast. It's more suited to ... I don't know." It was darker than that. "Lurking about in graveyards, I suppose," he finished, with significant irony.

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	oakbye 2010-11-08 01:44 am UTC (link)
	It seemed such an odd thing to say - Halloween for Essery had always been about feasts, family, children, candy... She looked at him from the corner of her eye and then. Well, then she knew that it wasn't just something he'd said. "Was that what you were doing, then?" She asked, quietly enough so she hoped it didn't seem like she was intruding. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

in_the_grass
2010-11-08 01:52 am UTC (link)

"Indeed," he said, and drank - his tone was such that it could have been a joke, but he didn't pursue it any further. It didn't feel intrusive, but all the same he didn't want to think too hard on it just now. "You're more accustomed to the Muggles traditions than I am, I suppose. I'm afraid I never did much for it, when I was growing up. But I must admit it sounds horrid." Children going door-to-door was just a terrible idea.

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	oakbye 2010-11-08 01:58 am UTC (link)
	Essery could understand not wanting to talk about it - and from his tone, she got that impression. She took another sip of her water, not quite looking at him, and nodded. "I did. I think my mum loved the night more than we ever did, though, of course.Making our costumes and everything." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

in_the_grass
2010-11-08 02:09 am UTC (link)

Severus thought her mother sounded like a very tolerant woman. Essery clearly shared some of her enthusiasm. "Not many people came out in our neighborhood. I doubt if mother would have had enough creativity to go as anything other than a witch, in any case." He shrugged. "Next year, I'll manage to come for the whole affair. Probably not in costume," he added, with a little nod to the feathers on her wrist.

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	oakbye 2010-11-08 02:11 am UTC (link)
	"Oh, are you sure? I'm sure I could put together something for you. Fill out some missed childhood experiences?" She grinned to show she was joking, then looked up as the last of the other professors left the great hall. "I think the elves will try to run us out soon," she commented, still chuckling. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

in_the_grass
2010-11-08 02:24 am UTC (link)

Severus gave her costume another slow once over, and by now he expected she knew that this particular arch of his eyebrow was a good-natured one. "That's very generous of you," he said, dry. "But I may have to decline."

It was emptying out, that was true. No elf was going to run him anywhere, but something about the thought of sitting in this huge empty space scattered with the various spent trappings of a holiday already enjoyed seemed a little ... depressing. "They may well try." He pushed his plate away, mostly untouched. "I suppose we ought to let them. Perhaps I'll just go lurk about outside, instead." He gave a half-smile.

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oakbye
2010-11-08 02:26 am UTC (link)

"This isn't a graveyard," she pointed out, and she looked at his plate, then back up to his face. Something was... off. Wrong. She just wasn't sure what it was that made her think so.

"The mean wasn't the best, left over, was it? Aren't you hungry? I have some things my mum sent, in my quarters, if you're feeling like something lighter. Everything the elves puts up is so heavy..."

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in_the_grass
2010-11-08 02:42 am UTC (link)

"I'm -" Not at all hungry, he had been about to say, before something shoved him sharply off course. He wasn't hungry. But the thought of company was much more appealing than going up to be alone, and that was strange enough that he had to take a moment to try to get his bearings.

She was a perceptive woman. She would have to know that something was wrong - or at least very different - if he accepted. It was probably inappropriate. It was not something he should have wanted to do. But he did. It made sense, in a way. This wasn't the first time he'd thought of her tonight. "No, it wasn't. And it isn't all just sugar?" he asked, not particularly caring what the answer was. "Really, I think anything might be better than more boiled steak."

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oakbye
2010-11-08 02:45 am UTC (link)

"No... mum's a bit of a gourmet, or thinks she is. She sent a few chicken dishes, and a potato salad she knows I like. I always complained about heavy food while I was in school. Living here again, she thinks it's her duty to see I eat..." Was he considering it? Was she considering it? Having him in her rooms seemed suddenly like something very, very dangerous...

And something that she wasn't really going to second guess. "And a lemon cream cake, of course."

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in_the_grass
2010-11-08 02:57 am UTC (link)

He had finished considering it; tonight he saw no reason to refuse. He wasn't himself and he wasn't taking the long view, as he had just said, but for once he didn't altogether care. This was ground he hadn't walked in a long time. He liked her. He couldn't think of anyone else he wanted to talk to. He could damn well go with her and have ... well, and have pie, if it came to that. He even smiled, although it blended with a bit of a sneer when the first elf popped up at the end of the staff table. "I thought I'd about died and gone to heaven, when I first came here ... but boys eat rather more, don't they. Let's, then. Cake sounds about the thing."

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oakbye
2010-11-08 03:01 am UTC (link)

"Oh, I can eat..." Essery laughed, as if she were sharing a secret, then stood when he agreed and started from the table. No time to let him second guess, either. And no time to make herself think what it might look like if someone saw the Headmaster going into her rooms with her, this late. "I'll need to go and check on Hufflepuff, first, of course," she pointed out. Duties and all.

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in_the_grass
2010-11-08 03:08 am UTC (link)

"Of course. I ought to make a round, too." Just to make sure that no one was up to any particularly obvious Halloween pranks. Filch often made out pretty well around this time of year, as far as confiscations went. "Ten minutes?"

He shouldn't have given himself even that long to think about what he was doing. But after spending the evening steeped in all the muck he'd dredged up from his past, everything seemed so ... not unimportant, but simple. Relative to what had gone before, nothing could be very bad. And it might even be much better.

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oakbye
2010-11-08 03:23 am UTC (link)

Essery thought that might ruin it - might give them both time to think about it and realize it was a bad idea. She tried to push that thought away, though, and instead touched his arm for a moment - just a moment - then smiled and let it go with a nod. "Ten minutes, Sir." She said, then turned on her heel to head for Hufflepuff. Those kids had better be in bed, she thought, or there would be hell to pay.

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in_the_grass
2010-11-08 03:33 am UTC (link)

His eyes flickered down to where her hand had been on his arm a moment earlier, and he nodded, taking it perfectly in stride - it felt less surprising than it should have, somehow - and left the Hall, heading in the opposite direction to sweep a few of the more traveled corridors. His mind was a mess tonight, strewn with so many different unconnected old feelings, that he had little opportunity to dwell at all.

But really, he thought it was a genuinely good idea. The only reasons it might not have been - that his job demanded something else of him and he wasn't in the habit of letting people know him at all - were laughably unpersuasive. He had never cared much about the former, and the latter was ... less than attractive, tonight. It was without very much anxiety that he made his way down toward the kitchens and the Hufflepuff common room, where he assumed he'd find her.

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oakbye
2010-11-08 03:38 am UTC (link)

Most of the students were in bed or headed that way, which, Essery decided, was good enough. She left the prefects in charge and told them again what a good night she hoped they'd had, but then she was waiting outside the portrait - assuming he'd come to find her there. When she did see him coming down the hall, she was almost embarrassed to realize how fast her heart was beating, how flushed she felt.

It wasn't like he'd do anything more than have dinner, right?

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in_the_grass
2010-11-08 03:50 am UTC (link)

He realized almost as soon as he caught sight of her that she was more agitated than when he had left her. He wasn't used to seeing her that way; he had grown used to her confidence, by now. He let himself make more than a cursory scan of her face without actually digging any deeper, which he was still quite reluctant to do. He thought - and hoped - that she was only nervous, for whatever reason, instead of reluctant. Or worse, regretful.

He wouldn't ask. He resisted the urge to offer to let her get her rest. "No catastrophes?" He stopped beside her, glancing don the hall. "We've only caught two so far tonight, trying to bewitch the stairways. Not a banner year."

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oakbye, 2010-11-08 03:53 am UTC

in_the_grass, 2010-11-09 12:57 am UTC

oakbye, 2010-11-09 01:10 am UTC

in_the_grass, 2010-11-09 02:02 am UTC

oakbye, 2010-11-09 02:13 am UTC

in_the_grass, 2010-11-09 02:26 am UTC

oakbye, 2010-11-09 02:30 am UTC

in_the_grass, 2010-11-09 02:38 am UTC

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